Minutes Till Midnight
by mirrorOfsin
Summary: Lynley/Havers. Based around six months after Helen's death. Smallish scene of a night scene between these two. Review please!


Minutes Till Midnight

Lynley/Havers

(!! YAY !!)

_All my own idea doesn't follow any of the series. Own nothing except plot because if I did own this I would have got these two together much sooner!_

Minutes Till Midnight

It was five minutes till midnight and Chief Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley was still wide awake and restlessly so. His room above the pub was freezing due to the broken heating broken and the local technician, Brian, was severely ill at home. He rubbed his hands together to warm them and huddled down further in his bed. His mind wandered to Barbara Havers who was probably asleep in the a-joining room. He wanted to go and talk to her but he should just let her sleep. This case had really tired her, climbing up and down the countryside trying to find clues of who murdered Emily Johnson and her fiancé Michael Parker. It had emotional tired her when the autopsy had shown that Emily and her eight month baby where beaten to death with a heavy metal object.

Without another thought he got up and crossed to the door. In the back of his mind he knew that, by doing this, he was crossing some boundary but it didn't stop him from opening the door and stepping into her room. Now six months after Helen's death he and Barbara had become, perhaps, closer than before. Her friendship was vitally important to him as she was the one who had helped him through every difficult part.

Just like his room, her's was just as cold and he saw her half curled under the duvet. Her hands were tucked under her chin and her red hair swept over her face. She looked peaceful and relaxed sleeping gently.

"Havers," he called softly. "Barbara."

She didn't stir and he came closer, raising his voice a little.

"Barbara."

Her eyelids fluttered and she made a mumbling sound. He called her name again and she opened her eyes and was startled to find him standing by her bed.

"Wha…what is it?" she grumbled turning a little to face him pushing the hair out of her eyes.

"Sorry…you were asleep."

"Yeah funny that, normal people sleep at this time," she said sleepily. "What's wrong?"

Tommy felt stupid and slightly uncertain. "Nothing I guess…just wanted to talk."

"Now? Great timing."

"Sorry."

Barbara sighed. This wasn't the first time he had woken her up to talk and she hadn't the heart to tell him to go away. Sometimes it seemed to her that she was the only one he ever really talked to about things and this made her think that she did mean something to him.

She pulled herself up leaning against the headboard and only then really felt how cold the room had become.

"It's bloody freezing, why are you standing there in just your pyjamas?"

"Where-?"

"It's too cold. You can get in but just pass me my jumper," she said moving over.

Tommy was mildly surprised but then the bed was the only place he could sit and be vaguely warm. He grabbed her jumper off the chair then sat gingerly sat on the bed and she flipped back the covers a little. He sat under and she took her jumper, slinging it round her shoulders and drew her legs up to her chest. There was enough light coming in from his room for him to see her expression. She was waking up and was simply waiting for him to begin.

"I really am sorry Barbara for just waking you up like this. I know it's selfish and not the first time I have done it but I just…" he didn't really know what to say. He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable.

"Feel alone?" she added gently.

"Something like that."

"It's fine. To be honest I have probably been asleep for only half an hour max. I had though you were asleep," she said soft smile.

"I had been thinking of the case and other things."

"Mmm that had been on my mind a bit as well," she admitted as she slipped down so she was lying on her back and he relaxed a bit more. But they were both conscience of the proximity of their bodies and something had shifted in their level of friendship.

After a bit he lay down too and placed his hands behind his head. He felt the mattress sink and she turned on her right.

"Have you any thoughts of who we could talk to next?" she asked and he sighed heavily.

"We could talk to Mrs Parker again. She was the last person to see Michael alive."

"And she didn't hide the fact she didn't like Emily."

"That is also true," Tommy scratched his chin. "I have a feeling that she was hiding something."

"Could she of murdered them then?" Barbara questioned tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. Tommy regarded her curled up facing him and at that moment she looked so vulnerable.

"I don't know… she _was_ his mother," he said.

Barbara made a comment back and that started up a whole different discussion that had them talking non-stop.

A while later Barbara yawned suddenly, "What time is it?"

Tommy turned and squinted at the clock on the side, "Uh coming up to ten past one."

"We have been talking for that long?" she sounded slightly surprised.

"Yes we have, gone quite fast," he murmured.

She bundled her jumper around her neck and tucked her arm under her head.

"I'm just going to close my eyes, carry on talking," she said with another yawn.

He turned on her bed facing her and smiled although she couldn't see. He talked softly and she made mumbles in agreement or disagreement and before long she was asleep again. He watched her for a while and brushed a rebellious strand away from her forehead. How long he was awake for he didn't know but like a black wave sleep claimed him and took him under.

During the night they learned in their sub-conscience to share the covers and both rolled closer to the other. At a point his arm slipped around her waist and her left hand clutched his hand. She snuggled closer so her face was against his chest and his leg slid between hers.

The morning came too fast and as the morning wake up came from the phone it stirred the beginnings of consciousness into Barbara and groggily she stretched out to hit it. Instead her hand came into contact of the warm body that she lay right next to. A sudden jolt of awareness had her eyes fly open and she let out a little strangled cry and tried to untangle herself from his arms. Tommy tightened his arms; the small curvy body in his arms was warming him and it felt right. He opened his eyes and then blinked seeing Barbara lying there.

"I…sorry," he said a bit dazed and let her go when a small part of him wanted to pull her back.

Barbara's face was flushed with heat and embarrassment, she muttered something under here breath and hopped out of the bed.

"Um sorry for sleeping here," he said rolling out feeling like a total idiot.

"It's fine," she mumbled looking anywhere but at him. She was mortified to have been found cuddled up to him!

He stood awkwardly at the door to his room. "I'll see you at breakfast."

She nodded quickly twisting some of her red hair round her finger. Without anything else to say he stepped out and shut the door tightly. She let out a breath and pressed her palms to her cheeks.

On the other side Tommy breathed in deeply and closed his eyes. He head was murky with thoughts that he didn't want to think about. A shower, he thought, will help. With that he went and cleared his head and thought of the best way to apologise to her without making everything completely uncomfortable between them.

Xxx

When he came down for breakfast she was already there waiting for him. She smiled a little but wouldn't meet his eyes and as they sat down and he began his apology she looked at him and gave him a dismissive wave of her hand.

"It was nothing, really, now…" she said hoping he would let it go and change subject.

"Ah…yes…well," Tommy said then started talking of the case and gradually the awkwardness disappeared and they fell back into their normal ways. But in both of their minds, whilst they wouldn't speak of it, thought over that morning and those moments when they weren't working partners, weren't just friends but something more. Something more intimate and something they both found wanting…

The end.

A/N: first ever Lynley/Havers! Have a video of them up on my youtube which is my homepage so if a fan please check it out. Please review!


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